Many people are interested in fostering but worry that they will need to give up their job. This is not always the case.
So, can you work and be a foster carer? Yes, it is often possible to work while fostering. You may be able to work full-time, part-time, from home or on a self-employed basis.
However, every fostering household is different. Whether your job can fit around fostering will depend on your working hours, how flexible your employer is and the needs of the child in your care.
Fostering involves much more than providing a spare bedroom. You must be available when a child needs care, comfort or support. You may also need to attend meetings, training sessions, school events and family time arrangements.
The aim is not to stop you from working. It is to make sure that your job and fostering duties can work well together.
Can You Foster and Work Full Time?
You may be able to foster while working full time, but it will depend on your circumstances.
Some full-time jobs offer flexible hours, remote working or the freedom to change plans at short notice. Other roles have fixed shifts or require long periods away from home.
As part of the assessment process, Ascent would explore how, alongside working, you could meet a child’s daily needs. This may include:
- Taking them to and from school
- Attending health appointments
- Joining school meetings
- Supporting family time arrangements with their birth family
- Attending training
- Meeting social workers and other professionals
- Caring for them when they are ill or during the school holidays
- Responding to unexpected problems
The government confirms that people in England may be able to work and foster. However, foster carers do not have a general statutory right to take time off work to care for a foster child.
This means it is important to think about how supportive and flexible your employer can be.
What Types of Work Fit Well With Fostering?
No particular job automatically makes someone suitable or unsuitable for fostering.
However, some working arrangements can be easier to combine with the role. These may include:
- Part-time employment
- Flexible or compressed hours
- Self-employment
- Working from home
- Term-time employment
- Shift work that fits around another carer’s hours
Flexibility is often more important than the total number of hours you work.
For example, working from home may seem ideal. However, you must still be able to stop working when a child needs your full attention.
A job outside the home may also be suitable if your employer allows flexible hours and you have reliable support in place.
How Does the Child’s Age Affect Your Working Hours?
The age and needs of the child can have a major effect on whether you can continue working.
Babies and young children
Babies and very young children need close care throughout the day. Nursery arrangements may not always be suitable, particularly when a child has recently entered care and needs time to build a secure relationship with their foster carer. Therefore, there may need to be a period of time where a carer can be flexible for a few weeks until it is deemed suitable by the professional network for them to begin nursery.
It may therefore be difficult to work regular full-time hours while fostering a baby or young child.
Most fostering arrangements about babies mean that there is a high level of family time arrangements due to their case being in court proceedings. This can mean these arrangements are up to five times per week, so it is also important to consider that.
School-age children
A child who attends school may fit more easily around some jobs. However, you will still need to cover school runs, holidays, appointments and days when the child is unwell.
Children in foster care may also need extra support before and after school. Their needs cannot always be managed around standard working hours.
Teenagers
Teenagers may be more independent in some areas, but they still need guidance, boundaries and emotional support.
They may need help with education, friendships, family contact and preparing for adult life. A foster carer must remain available and involved, even if the young person does not need constant supervision.
Does the Type of Fostering Make a Difference?
Different types of foster care place different demands on your time.
Short-term fostering
Short-term fostering arrangements can last for days, months or sometimes longer. The child may have several appointments and meetings while plans are made for their future.
You may need a high level of flexibility, especially when the child first arrives.
Long-term fostering
Long-term fostering may provide a more settled routine. This can make it easier to plan work and childcare.
However, long-term carers must still be available for school meetings, family time arrangements and any changing needs as the child grows.
Emergency fostering
Emergency fostering arrangements can begin with very little notice. Children may arrive at any time of the day or night.
This type of fostering may be harder to manage alongside fixed working hours because you need to be ready to respond quickly.
Stay-over breaks fostering.
Ascent Stay over Breaks (sometimes known as respite) foster carers usually provide care for short, planned periods. This may include weekends, school holidays or occasional overnight stays.
It can be a suitable choice for people who cannot commit to a full-time placement but still want to support children and other fostering families.
Will I Need Time Off Work for Foster Care?
You may need time away from work for meetings, training and appointments.
Unlike adoptive parents, most foster carers do not have a general legal right to foster care leave. Your employer may still offer paid or unpaid leave as part of its workplace policies.
It can help to speak to your employer before you begin fostering. You could ask about:
- Flexible working
- Changing your start and finish times
- Working from home
- Emergency leave
- Unpaid leave
- Flexitime
- Reducing your hours
- Foster-friendly workplace policies
You do not need to have every detail arranged before making an initial enquiry. However, it is helpful to know what options may be available.
Can I Be Self-Employed and Foster?
Yes, self-employed people can become foster carers.
Self-employment may allow you to choose your hours and reduce your workload when a child moves in. However, it can also create challenges if your income depends on being available to clients at fixed times.
During your assessment, you may discuss:
- How many hours you work
- Whether you can change your schedule
- How much time you spend away from home
- What would happen during an emergency
- Whether your income would remain stable
- How you would manage school holidays
The Ascent team will look at the full picture rather than your job title alone.
Do I Need to Give Up Work During the Assessment?
You will not normally need to leave your job while you are being assessed.
You will need to make time for home visits, checks and preparation training. Your assessing social worker will also discuss how you plan to balance work with fostering.
This helps you explore whether changes may be needed before a child is placed with you.
You should not make a major decision, such as leaving your job, without first discussing it with your fostering agency and considering the financial effects.
What Will the Fostering Assessment (Form F) Consider?
Your assessing social worker will want to understand your working life and daily routine.
They may ask:
- What hours do you work?
- How long is your journey to work?
- Can your hours change at short notice?
- Can you attend daytime appointments?
- Who will care for the child during school holidays?
- What would happen if the child became ill?
- Do you have supportive family members or friends?
- Would fostering affect your household income?
These questions are not designed to catch you out. They help Ascent decide which types of fostering arrangements may be suitable for your household.
Can You Work and Foster With Ascent?
Yes, we’ve helped many carers who are employed full time.
Our team will take time to understand your job, household and support network. We can then discuss which types of fostering may suit your circumstances.
You do not need to decide whether to leave your job before speaking to us. An initial conversation can help you understand what may be possible and whether any changes would be needed.
Contact Ascent Fostering Agency today to ask a question and learn more about combining work with becoming a foster carer.
If you would like to find out more about fostering and the amazing difference you could make in a young persons life. Give usa call on 0203 757 0070 or click HERE to receive a call back. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have on fostering and take you through the process.